More Than Meets the Eye
by RabidBat1
Summary: Allen convinces Lavi to tell him the story behind his eye patch. Unfortunately, Allen didn't realize just how complicated Lavi's past was... And what's up with these bats? Pairings: Lavi/Allen (Rating may go up in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Allen convinces Lavi to tell him the story behind his eye patch. Unfortunately, Allen didn't realize just how complicated Lavi's past was. Pairings: Lavi/Allen

A/N: This is my first fic, so let me know if it warrants a chapter two or not!

I don't own DGM.

It bothered Allen so much. He didn't know why he couldn't stop thinking about it. He looked across the table at Lavi. Actually, it was Lavi's eye covered by the patch that was the focus of his gaze. The redhead seemed to not notice, currently eating some unfamiliar dish that looked like a giant glob of yellowish-orange slop.

The only hint to behind the patch that Lavi had ever given was that it was not an injury. He had known the Bookman-to-be for a long time now, and it concerned him that he would not share this bit of information. However he was afraid to ask, worried he may upset his companion.

Lavi finally noticed Allen looking at him. Giving a slight blush he lifted his plate a little.

"Do you want to try some?" Lavi asked, smiling. When Allen made a weird face, he continued: "It's Indian Curry. It's really good!"

"What's in it?" Allen asked, glad to have an excuse for staring.

"This is a vegetable curry, so there are different vegetables in it with many different spices." Lavi answered, obviously not wanting to recall every ingredient. "Try it!"

"No thanks…." Allen politely declined.

"Suit yourself." Lavi shrugged taking another bite.

They were staying at an inn not too far from Istambul, the owner of which was from the border region of India and Pakistan. Lavi loved Indian food and was excited to get a chance to enjoy it on their mission. Although much of Lavi's past was still a mystery to Allen, he guessed that Lavi had spent a good part of his life in or around India and Nepal, probably training with Bookman. Bookman himself seemed like he was from the area, but Allen knew that if he asked he wouldn't get an answer.

"So where have the akuma been spotted?" Lavi asked pulling out his map.

"Somewhere near a small town called Sinop. It's along the shore of the Black Sea." Allen replied.

"The forests around Sinop are very thick." Lavi said. "We may need to get more lantern oil before we go."

Allen just kept staring at the eye patch Lavi wore, not saying anything in response. Lavi glanced at him.

"Hello? Allen? You in there?" He mockingly called out, throwing a curry covered piece of broccoli at his face, successfully hitting him in the cheek and awaking him from the daze.

"Y-Yeah… I'm ok, sorry." Allen stammered.

"You know, you are acting kinda funny. You sure you are feeling up to this mission?" Lavi questioned. "I don't want to have to carry you back if I can help it."

"I'm fine." Allen said. "Just thinking."

"Might I inquire what about?" Lavi asked in a very Bookman-like manner.

"Your eye." Allen said before he could stop himself.

"My eye?" Lavi reached a hand up and rubbed his left eye, pulling his hand away to investigate and see if whatever Allen was talking about could be removed. Satisfied that there was nothing apparently ON his left eye he quizzically looked over at Allen. "What about it?"

"Your other eye, the one covered by the patch." Allen said. "Why exactly do you wear that?"

Lavi looked around the dining area of the inn. Allen's comment got the group of women next to them to hush up fast and the innkeeper to glance at them, obviously listening in.

"This is neither the time nor the place for that explanation." Lavi stated, taking a bite. He could feel Allen's gaze striking him like a knife. "Why exactly do you want to know?"

"I-uh… I'm not sure. I just can't stop wondering." Allen admitted.

"Why do you think I wear it?" Lavi asked, curiously.

"My guess is that it is blind." Allen stated. "I also thought that you might be covering it because it may look different."

"I guess you are somewhat correct." Lavi mentioned, not giving away which part Allen may be correct about. "If it's bothering you that much I can tell you later."

"Really?" Allen's eyes lit up.

"Don't get too excited." Lavi said, obviously a little irked at himself for promising to tell. "It's not exactly a glorious reason."

Allen nodded and went back to eating. The idea of finding out was thrilling, even though it looked like the thought of it was making Lavi sick, as he didn't eat anything else and just moved his food around the plate with his fork.

….

Three days had passed and the two had reached the town of Sinop. Allen was very annoyed as Lavi had promised to tell him about his eye, but hadn't yet. Each time Allen asked, Lavi put it off by saying he was trying to think of the best way to tell him. Allen had had enough.

The two walked west of the village in search of akuma in the woods. The forest was very dark, not letting much light in through the tree tops. It was when they were far from the town that Allen asked again.

"Lavi, can you please tell me about your eye?" Allen asked. "You promised three days ago."

Lavi visibly tensed, then sighed.

"Alright." Lavi said, continuing in the direction they were going. "My eye is cursed, like yours."

"Like mine?" Allen asked, surprised that Lavi didn't put up much of a fight for telling him. "You mean you can see akuma too?"

"Well yes and no." Lavi said, looking to him. "The curse I have is somewhat different. Yours focuses on detecting akuma in disguise. Mine has no focus. No matter what I look at, I get flooded with more information than I can handle. Just looking at a person causes me to pass out."

Allen seemed puzzled and Lavi seemed to notice. He pulled out a coin to show Allen.

"Take this coin, for example." He said. "Looking at this coin, I would first be struck with information regarding what it is and what it is made up of. Then I would get molecular descriptions about the elements used to make it up, the history behind this individual coin as well as all other coins like it. I would get an entire history of how these coins have been used, both good and bad, the economics regarding the value and politics… I would also get a history of everyone who ever touched this coin, the makeup of whatever product it has purchased before coming to me, and so on. That's not including the fact that not only will I get that information from the coin, anything else I see, like in the background, will do the same thing."

Allen just stared at Lavi, not knowing what to say.

"If I were to look at an akuma disguised as a human I would be able to tell it's an akuma, but all the extra information would be too much at one time and I'd pass out. If the person was an akuma, passing out would not be a safe thing to do. I've been struggling to control it most of my life." Lavi said, not liking the silence Allen was giving him. "All I want is to be able to focus it."

"What about the eyepatch?" Allen asked. "Can't you see the inside of that?"

"No, the inside of the patch is cushioned in a way that forces my eye shut." Lavi said. "And even so, if I look at an item enough, when I go back to look at it again it will just give me any new information. The problem is that it's very hard to stay conscious during it and it usually results in extremely bad headaches."

"I had no idea." Allen mused.

"It's no big deal, but I don't like telling people." Lavi said, his head tilted down.

"Does Bookman know?" Allen asked.

"Yes, but I hid it from him for years before he found out." Lavi stated. "He has been trying to help me control it, but it's hard for him since he doesn't really understand how it works."

"How did it happen?"

Lavi went quiet, obviously feeling like too much was already said about the subject.

"Another time." Lavi said, almost inaudible, but Allen heard and nodded as they continued through the forest.

….

Their journey was very quiet. It was evening and the two had been forced to pull out their lanterns early because of how little light was allowed through the trees. Allen was so focused on what Lavi had told him that he didn't notice the taller boy stop and ran right into his back, causing Lavi to almost fall forward.

"Watch it, short-stack." Lavi said. "You almost knocked me into the river."

Allen looked at the river in front of Lavi.

"Maybe we have gone too far…" Allen mused, pulling out the map.

After a few minutes of looking over the map they decided to head back to the town. It was obvious that the akumas that were reported in the region were no longer there.

"What a total waste!" Lavi whined with a yawn. "Then again it's not like it's a desirable area for akuma. These thick forests make it hard for them to move around in."

Before turning to walk back the direction they came, Lavi saw a large bush clinging onto the riverbank. Allen saw Lavi staring at the bush and sighed.

"There are no akuma there, Lavi." He said after checking with his eye.

""I know." Lavi said not breaking the gaze. "You may want to be prepared to cover your face."

Allen watched as Lavi walked over to the shrub quietly and carefully tapped his boot against the base of the plant.

Suddenly, about two dozen bats came swarming out of the bush in all directions, a few narrowly missing hitting Allen, who was in complete shock. Once he recovered he saw Lavi staring after them as they disappeared into the evening sky over the river.

"LAVI!" Allen yelled, annoyed. "You knew those bats were in there!?"

"Yeah." Lavi said quietly, not paying much attention. "They are a type of Vesper bat… They are too quick to identify which species, though."

"I hope that isn't a bad sign." Allen said, still trying to recover. Bats creeped him out and he'd refer them not be anywhere near him.

"Only European cultures and some Mesoamerican cultures view bats as a bad omen." Lavi stated turning to walk the direction they came. "In China they are seen as good luck. American Aboriginals see them as heroic and self-sacrificial. Did you know that bats make up more than twenty percent of all mammal species?"

"Um, no…" Allen responded, following the red head.

"Add that onto being everywhere on earth besides to Arctic and Antarctic, and you have a very successful group of taxa." Lavi seemed to be talking to himself more than to Allen.

"So, why do bats only fly at night?" Allen asked, partly because he wanted to know and partly to humor Lavi. He did this every time he found bats, would point them out and then talk about them for a while. He did it with other animals too, but it was more obvious with bats. It was easy to tell that the red head was fascinated by the small flying mammals.

"What we know so far is that they see with their ears by making small high pitched chirps and listening to what the sound bounces off of. They probably choose night over day because of all the bugs that come out at night and less competition for food from birds. Outside of that we don't know for certain, but some of the legends are fun to entertain." Lavi said, recalling old stories. "Some say the bats were birds who lost their feathers and are embarrassed to come out during the day. My favorite legend, albeit definitely not true, is that there was a battle between the birds and the beasts, and being neither bird nor beast, the bats didn't choose a side. Being unbiased, they were shunned into the night by all the other animals."

(A/N: Silverwing reference! Kudos to those who caught it!)

Allen just listened, taking notice in how Lavi chose his words.

"Besides, not all bats are nocturnal. Some fruit bats and larger megachiroptera are generally diurnal and active during daylight." Lavi added.

"I didn't know there were species that flew during the daytime." Allen said, feeling nervous about the idea of there being big bats.

The two didn't talk much after that as they headed back into town.

….

They arrived back in town just after dark.

"We will stay a night just to be sure the region is clear, but there is no reason to stand guard in a place that is unlikely to have any akuma." Allen said, scanning the horizon for any glimpse of the creatures.

"Let's try that inn by the fountain." Lavi said, waking towards where he remembered seeing the fountain earlier.

The two found it and reserved a room for themselves. As they entered the room, both of their hearts sank as they gazed at the one bed in the room. It wasn't like they were used to always getting their own bed, but it was nice when the opportunity arose. However the sound of the fountain outside the window did make them feel more relaxed.

"At least this bed is big enough to share." Lavi said, earning himself a questioning glare from Allen.

It was true, most inns they came across that only one bed didn't care to offer one larger than a single person's bed. This one was definitely big enough for two people with room to spare.

"Just so long as you don't kick me out of bed and steal the covers in your sleep." Allen threatened.

"Would I do that?" Lavi smirked, knowing full well that that is what happened last time they shared a bed together.

"Very funny." Allen mused, setting his things down. "Do you want to go look around a bit?"

"At what? The prison?" Lavi asked, remembering seeing a very large stone prison looking like it was almost finished being built. "No thanks."

Allen sighed and turned to leave.

"I'm going to get some dinner then." Allen said before leaving.

Lavi collapsed onto the bed, kicking off his boots. He thought about everything he had told Allen and debated with himself if it was worth telling him the whole story or not. He worried about Allen telling the others at the Black Order, and the last thing he needed was Komui launching a little science experiment on him… However, if he told Allen the whole story, maybe he would understand exactly WHY he didn't want people to know.

Lavi sighed as he reached up to touch the patch. Being a Bookman, he would normally escape this type of scenario by running off and adopting a new persona with a new name, but he knew he couldn't do that this time. He looked out the window to the streetlight, where the moths were gathering. A bat came out and snatched a moth before it flew away into the night.

Lavi smiled.

….

Allen quietly opened the door to the room and snuck in. He saw that Lavi was already in bed, so he quickly undressed and slipped under the covers on the empty side of the bed. He tried to be as quiet as possible, hoping not to wake Lavi up, and mentally cursed himself when he heard Lavi stir. He could feel the dip in the bed where Lavi was moving a little.

Suddenly, Allen felt an arm snake around his waist and pull him close so that his back was up against Lavi's chest and stomach. He gasped in surprise and Lavi rested his face in Allen's white hair. Realizing that both of them were only wearing their boxers, Allen thought Lavi MUST still be asleep and unaware of what he was doing, so he tried to wriggle free, until he heard Lavi speak.

"It happened when I was really young." Lavi said, not loosening his hold on the smaller boy. Allen stopped, realizing Lavi was talking about his eye. "I never knew my parents, growing up in a different foster home every few months. At the time, I was in a small town in Northwestern Australia. The town was attacked by rebel forces and I was taken hostage along with other children. They kept us in a small dark room and we were not allowed to go outside. The only time we left the room was when… when those men needed their urges satisfied." Lavi moved his hand below Allen's navel to the lining of his boxers to gesture exactly what he meant. He heard Allen gasp, but did not remove his hand.

"B-but you were just a kid, right?" Allen asked, obviously horrified.

"It didn't matter to them." Lavi said. "Whenever they got angry they would use us as their personal punching bags as well. I must have had over six broken ribs in the first week and it seemed like I was always bleeding."

Allen listened closely as Lavi's voice and arm started to quiver a bit as he moved his hand back to its original position.

"I watched as other children started dying all around me until I was the last one." Lavi continued. "A little over a month went by like that before they decided they didn't need me anymore. Then they beat me to the point of no recovery and left me for dead."

Allen's hand reached up to touch Lavi's arm to show he was listening and as a mild gesture of comfort.

"That's when I saw it… him…." Lavi paused and thought about his words. "… I made a deal with the devil, I chose a cursed life over an early death."

"…I had no idea…" Allen spoke softly, not sure what to say exactly. He felt Lavi's grip tighten very slightly. Allen wiggled a bit, not to get away, but to turn around and face the redhead. It was dark, but what little light came in through the window gleamed off the moisture in his left eye. His right eye was covered by a different patch, a softer, more secure one that Allen knew Lavi usually wore at night.

Lavi's arm pulled Allen close so their hips joined together.

"Allen…" Lavi started, a grin appearing on his face. "You look ridiculously adorable when you are troubled."

Allen was caught off guard by the statement that he didn't notice Lavi's face get closer until their lips met. Once Allen realized what was happening he closed his eyes and wrapped an arm around Lavi's shoulder. The two remained in that position for a bit, neither pulling away or deepening the kiss.

"Allen…" Lavi said, finally pulling away.

"Yeah?" Allen asked.

"… Bookman is gonna kill me…"

…

A/N: So? What do you guys think? Is this story worthy of a 2nd chapter (or more)? I have a plan for the whole story, but currently it doesn't look like more than 5-10 chapters, but that could all change. I haven't even started chapter 2 yet, mainly because I want to see how the response to the first chapter goes. Oh, and if I decide this fic is worth continuing, there IS a purpose for the bat scene! It was not placed randomly! There is also a lot more I have planned for Lavi's past that wasn't included in this one.

Forgive my typos, my wireless keyboard tends to skip and I sometimes miss them in the proofread. -.-'


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!

Just to note, because the area they are traveling through was experiencing a lot of political turmoil and border changes during the time the Anime/Manga was said to take place, I will mostly just refer to the modern names. I will try to me this as "politically/time-period appropriate" as possible, but not ALL of it will be, so just bear with me.

….

Lavi and Allen spent the night in each other's arms.

Come dawn, Allen felt Lavi leave the bed but was too tired to get up himself. He peeked an eye open to see Lavi get dressed and head out of the room. About an hour later, Lavi came back and placed a kiss on Allen's cheek.

"You may want to get up." Lavi said, quietly.

"…But the sun isn't even up yet…" Allen moaned.

"But the sky is light." Lavi interjected. "I just got off the phone with Komui."

"…And?" Allen peeked an eye open took at Lavi. He seemed wide awake, clad in his exorcist coat and his headband held his hair up and out of his face.

"He said there are some unusual phenomena happening in the region of Cambodia and we need to get over there as soon as possible to investigate." Lavi said.

"Where's Cambodia?" Allen asked shutting his eyes again.

"Southeast Asia." Lavi said. "Komui didn't tell me what KIND of phenomena was happening, just to get there quick. Being on the opposite side of Asia as us, it would take the average person about 40 days to get there. We can use my hammer to cut down some of the time, but we are still looking at two and a half to three weeks."

Allen groaned at the thought of traveling that far.

"I brought you some breakfast." Lavi stated, getting Allen's attention immediately. "We need to get started as soon as possible."

That's when Allen saw the large tray full of fruits and breads. It definitely wasn't enough to fill Allen up, but it would hold him over until the next time they stopped to eat.

"Sorry there isn't any meat, this was all I could get ahold of this early in the morning." Lavi said, grinning sheepishly.

Allen couldn't tell if Lavi was lying or not. Even though Lavi never admitted it, Allen knew that the red head was a vegetarian. He started to notice a while back at the Order when every meal he got was meatless or had beans or tofu in place of a meat item. However, Lavi wasn't the only one. Bookman did the same thing. Allen assumed that Lavi inherited that trait from being around Bookman all the time. Allen also suspected Kanda of being vegetarian, but really couldn't force himself to care enough to notice.

Allen shrugged it off and got up to eat and get dressed.

….

The two started out early and walked through a forest path heading East. Several hours in, Allen broke the silence.

"Lavi, I was thinking about something." Allen started, getting Lavi's attention. "Would it be possible for me to help you train your eye?"

"I guess it would be possible." Lavi said, thinking about it. "But the thing is that I don't know IF my eye can be trained to look past all the unnecessary information."

"It wouldn't hurt to try though, would it?" Allen asked.

"I suppose not, but I wouldn't even begin to know how to start." Lavi said. "We could only try when we know it's safe."

"Yeah. We can start off small and work from there." Allen agreed. He saw that they were approaching a town. "What town is that?"

"Samsun." Lavi said without thinking. "We will stop to get lunch here, then we'll head South to Sivas, after that we will head West again to Urfa and stay the night."

"But I don't see a South road." Allen said, looking at all the major roads seeming to dart out of the town.

"We will use my hammer whenever we cross areas with few roads and towns so that we don't draw any attention to us." Lavi explained.

Allen nodded in understanding.

The two stopped at a tavern in the town and had some lunch. The two then proceeded to the south side of town and continued walking through the groves. Once Lavi felt sure they were far enough, he pulled out his hammer for them to ride.

"LITTLE HAMMER, BIG HAMMER, EXTEND!" Lavi shouted and the hammer jolted them into the air.

Caught off guard, Allen wrapped his arms tightly around Lavi's waist.

"Just lean against me and relax, ok Allen?" Lavi called over the sound of the rushing air around them. Allen nodded and pressed his stomach up against Lavi's back, still keeping his arms secure around the red head's waist. "You are my eyes, Allen, keep a sharp lookout for any akuma."

Allen gazed at the horizon in all directions.

"It looks like we are clear right now." Allen said.

The two travelled over forests, crop fields and animal pastures before they saw a fairly good sized town in front of them: Sivas.

The two stopped on the outskirts of the town and made their way through the town to the other side before continuing on Lavi's hammer. While up in the air, Lavi pointed to the South.

"Syria is just beyond that horizon." Lavi said. "It will be impossible to avoid the desert, but we will try and go the routes which avoid the worst parts."

Allen nodded, his face laying against Lavi's back. The evening sky was making him tired, but he still remained on alert for akuma. Whenever a gust of wind hit them from the side, Allen could feel Lavi's core muscles tighten to combat the wind and keep them balanced.

It was dark and somewhat cold when Lavi brought the hammer down to the earth, both of them sore from being stuck in one position for much longer than they should have been and tired from having the wind slapping their faces for the better part of the day, causing their cheeks to redden slightly. They walked about a mile before entering the town of Urfa. Too tired to care, they chose the first inn they came across, happy that the innkeeper had room for them.

"You boys look like you have traveled far." The innkeeper's wife said as she showed them to their room. "Breakfast will be at seven if you care to join us."

"Thank you ma'am." Allen said before she unlocked the door and left them.

The two looked inside to find two beds with one on either side of the window. Allen's heart sank a bit at the thought of not sleeping next to Lavi like he had the night before, but he pushed that thought away from his mind as Lavi entered and set his stuff down. Allen did the same.

"We lucked out." Lavi said. "This is probably the only inn in town with running water."

"Really?" Allen asked, thinking about it. "Then I'm going to take a shower before bed."

Lavi reached into his bag and pulled out a small sack.

"I'm sure you're hungry, too." Lavi said holding the sack out to Allen. "It's not much, but hopefully it will get you through the night."

Allen looked inside the pouch to find a few plums inside.

"What about you?" Allen asked.

"I'll be fine, you need it more than me." Lavi said, earning himself a scowl from Allen. "Plus, I'm too tired to eat."

"Thanks." Allen sighed, not really wanting to make a fuss.

He had a few plums and left one just in case Lavi changed his mind, then proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower.

….

The water felt good against his windswept skin. Allen was too tired to really clean himself, and instead opted for just letting the water fall on him and trickle its way down his body, the dim candle light not helping his energy one bit. He got to thinking about the night before. He couldn't stop thinking about how he felt during that kiss and being able to sleep in Lavi's arms all night. His cheeks turned a bit more pink that the thought of what else could have happened had they not needed to be up early the next day.

Suddenly, Allen felt a hand clasp over his mouth.

His first response was to try to yell and pull away, but another hand came from behind and held him still around the waist.

"Shh, it's me." He heard Lavi whisper. "Let's not wake up the neighborhood, ok?" he slowly removed his hand covering Allen's mouth.

"Lavi!" Allen quietly exasperated. "What are you doing?"

"You were taking a long time and if I don't get a shower soon I may pass out all stinky and smelly." Lavi grinned.

That's when Allen noticed that Lavi was also naked and his arm still around the smaller boy's waist. Allen's face quickly turned a bright red as he tried to back away.

"What's wrong?" Lavi asked, releasing his grip.

"Y-You can't just come in here!" Allen said.

"Why not?" Lavi looked confused. "I made sure nobody was around to see me come in."

"That's not the point!" Allen said. He watched Lavi grab the soap bar and start rubbing it over his arms.

"It's not a big deal." Lavi said, throwing in a smirk. "And I can wash your back since I'm here."

"N-NO!" Allen said quickly, turning away to hide the look on his face as well as to hide other things becoming obvious. "I can wash myself!"

"Suit yourself." Lavi said, continuing to wash himself.

Allen sighed as he realized that Lavi wasn't going to be leaving, so he grabbed his own bar of soap and started scrubbing himself, mentally kicking himself every time he glanced at Lavi. When Lavi turned around, Allen relaxed a bit. Allen didn't realize how many scars Lavi had on his body, his back and legs were completely covered. Allen was about to look away, until he saw something on Lavi's back, peeking from under his wet, red hair. Thinking it was dirt, Allen took a closer look.

It was a tattoo. But of what? Before he could stop himself, Allen reached out and moved Lavi's red hair to reveal the rest of the tattoo, getting the older boy's attention, and revealing the tattoo as being one of a small bat, stylized into looking very tribal like, similar to ones seen in Pacific coastal communities.

"A bat?" Allen asked.

"Wirambi." Lavi said over his shoulder.

"What?" Allen asked.

"It means bat in the Aboriginal language of Australia." Lavi said. "The man who saved me from that incident there gave it to me before I left Australia with Bookman."

"Why a bat?" Allen asked.

"It's a long story." Lavi said "I will tell you before we get to Cambodia if you want."

Allen sighed. Just when he thought he had Lavi figured out…

….

The two finished their shower and quietly went back to their room in their boxers. Allen got under the covers of his bed and was surprised to see Lavi follow. The bed was small but when they curled up together they both fit just fine.

Lavi placed a kiss on Allen's lips and Allen responded passionately. Lavi gave out a small groan at Allen's impatient kisses and he started to let his hands wander down the silver-haired boy's back. He started to lightly tickle the skin along Allen's boxers, causing the younger boy to shiver and give a small whimper. He then felt one of Allen's hands on his leg, slowly working its way up. He was extremely hard now and gave a small gasp as the hand started to go up one of the boxer pant legs.

Lavi had to force himself to break the kiss.

"As much as I would give anything to continue, we need to sleep, Allen." Lavi said, obviously pained at his own words. "Tomorrow we need to get to Mosul to make good time."

Allen nodded, begrudgingly aware that Lavi was right. They repositioned themselves so that Allen's back was to Lavi and Lavi's arm snaked around Allen's waist as the two quietly drifted off to sleep.

….

The sound of someone knocking on the door the next morning made both boys jump out of their skin. Lavi quickly jumped out of the bed and rushed to the door, nearly tripping over Allen's pack on the ground.

"Yes?" He said in a calm and collected voice and he peeked the door open. Allen was always envious of how Lavi could switch personalities on a whim, even being able to hide panic under an exterior of calm.

"Breakfast will be ready in half an hour." The innkeeper's wife stated. Lavi saw her throw a glance behind him briefly and then back at him.

"Thank you." Lavi said.

"I hope you've been up for a while." The woman said turning away to head towards the staircase.

Lavi closed the door and stared at it for a minute.

"What did she mean by that?" Allen asked.

"She saw the other bed hasn't been touched all night." Lavi said, bluntly. "I don't know if we want to have breakfast here."

"What?!" Allen seemed shocked.

"Think about it." Lavi said. "That woman KNOWS we slept in the same bed."

"But we just slept… and kissed… we didn't get around to DOING anything." Allen said, a blush appearing on his face.

"She doesn't know that." Lavi said, he turned around to Allen. "All she knows is that two teenage boys shared a bed that they didn't have to. The relationship we have is considered a taboo in many cultures, so it's best we move on and find somewhere else to eat."

Allen sighed, is stomach making noises as he watched Lavi starting to get dressed.

"We will grab some food at the town square and see if we can't find a ride to Mosul." He said, pulling his pants on.

"Ride?" Allen asked, pulling his shirt on while still sitting in the bed.

"If we're lucky." Lavi said, handing the map to Allen. "The hammer will be too risky on this next trip."

Lavi sat on the bed next to Allen to put his boots on. Allen looked at Lavi's bare back covered in scars and the little bat tattoo.

"Is that where you are from?" Allen asked. "I mean, originally?"

"Huh?" Lavi asked confused, but then he felt Allen's hand trace the outline of the tattoo. "Yeah… well, at least I think so. It's hard to say because I know nothing of my birth parents."

Lavi stood up and pulled his shirt on and then his coat. Allen followed to get his pants on.

"Let's get going." Lavi said.

The two quietly snuck out of the tavern, not wanting to be seen by either the innkeeper or his wife. They made their way to the town square, where they got some breakfast at a cafe. While Allen was finishing his huge breakfast, Lavi went to ask the traders about their destinations.

Allen watched Lavi barter from the table he was sitting at. The red head had many different skills, and bartering came in extremely helpful when traveling. Allen decided to go up and listen in hopes of getting some tips. As he approached, he heard Lavi's voice get louder, but something was different about it… Once he got up close to the red head and the man he was talking to, he realized they were speaking another language. He guessed it was either Turkish or another regional language. Another very useful trait about the red head, he always seemed to know every language they ran into.

Lavi turned to Allen and walked over to him.

"We have a ride!" Lavi smiled.

"What did you have to give him?" Allen asked, happy to hear that they didn't have to walk.

"Originally he didn't want to take us at all, even for money, but I mentioned how far we were going and he said he would give us a ride if we promised to help his son with a favor in Kabul." Lavi said.

"With what?" Allen's heart sank with the thought of having a delay, even if it was to get a ride.

"A camel delivery," Lavi said smiling. "His son lives in Kabul, and we will be taking his camels from Kabul to Islamabad, which is the direction we are headed. Apparently, his wife is currently too sick to make the journey."

"You sure we can do that?" Allen asked.

"Of course!" Lavi said, looking over to the man he was talking to. "But we have to get going now."

The three men headed outside of the square to the trading post where the man's cart and horses were. The contents of the cart were covered by a large burlap blanket, but the smell of pepper floated out from underneath.

"Eğer baharat ticaret musunuz?" Lavi asked the trader.

"Evet, bugün biber taşıyacak." The man responded, a wide smile across his face.

"What did you guys say?" Allen asked quietly.

"I asked if he was a spice trader and he said he was and we are carrying pepper today." Lavi said, climbing up to sit on the back of the cart and letting his legs dangle over the back. The man got into the front and Allen followed Lavi onto the back and before they knew it, they were off.

….

The journey was long, but the man's horses were fast, walking at a much more brisk pace than most cart pulling hoses. Lavi and the man would engage in casual conversation in Turkish from time to time, Allen not understanding, but not caring much unless it seemed like important information was being said. Allen opted for pulling out the map to try and figure out Lavi's travel plan.

Lavi looked over at Allen who seemed confused at something on the map.

"Something wrong?" Lavi asked.

"Why are we even going to Mosul?" "Allen asked. We could easily take a shorter route past it." Lavi glanced at the route Allen was pointing to.

"There is too much political turmoil on that path." Lavi said. "Plus, Mosul is a bigger city, we can stock up on supplies."

"What do we need that we don't already have?" Allen asked.

"Well, first off, once we leave Mosul we will mostly be in the desert, so we need an extra water container." Lavi said. "Plus, diseases are much more prevalent the farther East we go, so we need to be ready."

Allen sighed and leaned against Lavi slightly. Lavi grinned and put his arm around Allen's shoulders. Allen gave him a curious look.

"It's ok, he thinks we are cousins." Lavi said. He looked back at the man, who was busy watching the road, and quickly placed a kiss on Allen's forehead.

The rest of the journey was long. Getting tired of just sitting, both Allen and Lavi got out a few times to run alongside the cart to stretch their legs. The man would just smile at them and make some comment in Turkish about how much energy young people had.

By the time the town of Mosul (modern day Iraq) came into view, the sun was just beginning to set. Lavi and the trader talked as they approached the city, the trader obviously giving Lavi instructions to find his son. As they arrived at the trading post, Lavi pulled out a few coins.

"I thought we didn't have to pay him." Allen whispered.

"We don't, I'm buying some pepper." Lavi said.

"Pepper? Why?" Allen couldn't think of what they needed pepper for.

"He gave us a ride because of a verbal agreement that we would help his son." Lavi said. "The very least we can do is give the man some business, that way he will not be completely out if something were to happen and we can't help or find his son. Plus, we can use the pepper to trade. We are going to be entering areas where currency is the least desirable method of payment."

"Oh," Allen said, surprised at how much Lavi thought in advance.

"Now we need to hit a few places in town before we settle in, otherwise we will get a late start tomorrow." Lavi said. With that he thanked the trader and got a small bag of pepper before the two headed to look at the other traders' wares.

Allen watched as Lavi carefully looked at tools and supplies. Lavi purchased two small pipes, a small piece of nylon fabric, some metal straining mesh, a bag of purified carbon pieces, and a large water canteen. Allen wondered what he was going to do with that weird combination of supplies, but didn't bother asking.

"Lavi," Allen said, pointing to a small building. "There's an inn. I'm going to book us a room." Lavi nodded as Allen walked away.

Lavi just needed one more thing…

….

Allen opened the door to the room he booked. It was small with one bed inside, bigger than the one back in Urfa. He set his bag down and went out to the payphone at the inn's front desk.

"Allen! How are things? Where are you calling from?" Komui's voice rang out through the receptor.

"Fine, we just arrived in Mosul." Allen responded.

"Already?" Komui asked. "That sure was quick."

"Lavi has been focused on making good time, and his hammer came in very useful yesterday, but we still have a long way to go." Allen said.

"You two will probably be using the hammer quite a bit until you get to Islamabad. Is Lavi with you now?"

"No, he is getting some supplies." Allen said, then thought for a minute. "Chief Komui, do you know much about Lavi's past?"

"Lavi's past?" Komui seemed surprised at the question. "Well, I know he was an orphan before he became Bookman's apprentice, but other than that I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing, really, it's just obvious we are taking a route Lavi is familiar with." Allen half-lied.

"Well he does have quite a travel history." Komui said. "Anyways, make sure to check in with me when you reach Islamabad. I doubt there will be many phones between where you are now and there, so don't worry about checking in until you get there unless you really need to."

"Right." Allen responded.

"Have a good trip!" Komui sung before Allen heard a click from the other end and a dial tone.

He hung up the receiver and turned to see Lavi approaching.

"Was that Komui?" Lavi asked, handing him a loaf of bread.

"Yeah." Allen said, turning to head towards the room with Lavi. "He said we are making good timing."

"Right now we are, but we haven't encountered any akuma yet, so don't hold your breath." The red head said.

"True." The two entered the room and closed the door behind them.

Lavi set his bag down and pulled out all the supplies he had bought.

"I have something for you." Lavi said. He reached in and pulled out a folded piece of fabric, handing it to Allen.

The younger boy gave a curious look at the fabric and then at Lavi before taking it and unfolding it. It was an extremely long scarf, similar to Lavi's, but was a pale blue with tan trim. The texture was thick and wasn't entirely soft, but it wasn't rough.

"A scarf?" Allen asked. "For the desert?"

"To keep the sun out of your eyes and for insulation." Lavi explained. "It's thick, but it will keep your skin cool and the hot desert air from burning you."

"So that's why you always have a scarf on?" Allen asked.

"Well, that's one reason." Lavi said. "It can be used for many things. I've used mine as a makeshift halter for a horse, a tourniquet for large wounds, as a way to get water, and even as an escape rope… Well, that was before I joined the Order and got my hammer."

"How do you get water with this?" Allen asked.

"If you find a deep well with no pail or other deep water source, just let the end soak in the water then just suck on the fabric to drink." Lavi said.

Allen let out a small laugh at the thought of Lavi sucking water off of his scarf. He looked at the blue scarf in his hand and smiled. "Thanks, Lavi."

"No problem." Lavi smiled back.

"Now it's time to start training your eye." Allen said with a grin similar to the one he wore while playing poker.

…

I really didn't want to leave it off here, but the chapter is already much longer than I planned.

So here is my dilemma, I may have to change the rating on this because I have started chapter three and it is definitely leading into an "M" rating. I just increased the rating with this chapter and want to know how many readers prefer it stay at this rating or would like to see it go up with "M"-rated material in future chapters… I can accommodate either, but not both, so please comment on which you would prefer.


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